The National Air and Space Museum commemorates the history of flight and educates and inspires people through its collections, exhibitions, research, and programs related to aviation, space flight, and planetary studies.

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Terrain Board, Helicopter

A terrain board is a detailed scale model of a piece of terrain, which is used in flight simulators to train pilots. A television camera, with a long depth-of-field and coupled to the motions of the simulator, "flies" along the board in response to the pilot's actions. The television image is displayed in the simulator cockpit, giving the trainee a view of what he or she would see if flying an actual craft.

This board, manufactured by the Singer-Link Aviation Company, was used to train helicopter pilots, and was intricately detailed to provide a realistic view at low simulated altitudes. With the advent of digital computers with high-resolution graphics displays, these boards became obsolete.

A terrain board is a detailed scale model of a piece of terrain, which is used in flight simulators to train pilots. A television camera, with a long depth-of-field and coupled to the motions of the simulator, "flies" along the board in response to the pilot's actions. The television image is displayed in the simulator cockpit, giving the trainee a view of what he or she would see if flying an actual craft.

This board, manufactured by the Singer-Link Aviation Company, was used to train helicopter pilots, and was intricately detailed to provide a realistic view at low simulated altitudes. With the advent of digital computers with high-resolution graphics displays, these boards became obsolete.